On the Bridge
by surroundedbystars
Summary: A couple of days after Max comes back into Chloe's life, Joyce Price-Madsen finds herself thinking about her late husband and her daughter.


**The following is a piece of fan-fiction based upon Dontnod Entertainment's Life is Strange. No claim of ownership is made and none is expected to be honored. I own nothing.**

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Before the town voted to close the area off, there used to be this… Well, I guess you could call it a fjord. It wasn't a fjord like the Norwegian fjords, you understand; it was just a bit where the Wilson River spun off between a couple of hills. In my memory it's quiet. The only sound is the light cruising of the river below the bridge on which we stand. Maybe some birds in the distance too. But they're distant. Far away. In my memory it's just me and William there on the bridge. It's wonderful.

He wasn't William then, though. Back then he was just Bill. Wild Bill Price, he asked his friends to call him. They never did, though. He said he was going to be a Federal Marshall. Well, that was one of the things he said he was going to be. Bill was a little bit of a wanderer back then. A dreamer. One week he was going to be a tattoo artist, the next he was going to write the Great American novel. I guess that's what first attracted me to William; he never looked at the negative side of life.

You know, I remember. We had been dating for a few months. He took me to go see Jurassic Park at the Newberg Cineplex and as we were coming out of the theatre he had this big grin on his face.

'You liked the film, darling?' I said.

He nodded, grinning like a proud father. 'Yeah… I loved it."

Now, I'm going to be honest and say I didn't like Jurassic Park the first time I saw it. Sure, I liked the CGI and seeing the dinosaurs was fun - you kids are spoiled these days - but I didn't like the film. I thought it was too dark, too violent.

"Did you?"

"Yeah," he said. "Didn't you?"

"Not really… It was too dark. Scary."

"I didn't think it was dark," he said. "I mean… Sure, there's lots of people being eaten. But it's not like Silence of the Lambs. They're animals, you know? It's like the film says: life will find a way."

It sounds funny now, but I suppose love does sound funny when you get old and cynical. I don't quite understand what he meant - to be honest, we were pretty drunk at the time so I doubt he did either - but I knew there was something there. There was something always there, darling. Pastor Marsh calls it the soul and so does James Brown. Me? I prefer to call it heart.

I see it in you too, you know. Sure, it's buried under your peroxide blue hair and tattoos and Riot Grrl Rage, but it's there. It's a gentleness and an understanding and… a heart. It's buried deep and it sometimes feels like it's completely gone, but we know better than that. You can't kill that Price Heart. The world simply needs it to function properly.

I know that David gives you a lot of crap, and I know that you enjoy giving him hell back a little too much. But please understand that I'm not trying to wage war, Chloe. I'm just trying to keep you safe. I know that you've had a rough couple of years, but I'm not the enemy. I'm just… I'm just an old lady who misses her husband and who wants to keep her little girl safe from all the bad things in the world. I know with that with your dad and now Rachel I've probably failed but I am trying. I hope you know that.

You know, Chloe. Your dad asked me to marry him not long after that date, about six weeks after. I'd told him that I was pregnant about a week before and he was… Well, I'm going to be honest, dear, he was dumbstruck. Shocked. He stood up from the couch, ran down the street and then sat down in the shower. I gave him a week to come to his senses and think about his response. And he asked me to marry him. He got on his knees, right then and there on the bridge, and popped the question.

You know the rest, dear. We were married four months later in San Francisco and you came along four months after that.

I've never regretted marrying your dad, Chloe. He was a wonderful man and the world was a better place when he was in it. I think that you can do the same thing when you want to. Because you're so like him, you know? You have a wonderful heart and you're a lot more important than you think you are. I think it might be Max. I am glad you've got her back in your life again, Chloe. There's been a big difference in you these past couple of days. You've got purpose again. A dream too, I hope. A mother likes to see that.

Listen to me, rambling in my own thoughts…

I probably shouldn't have opened your bedroom door, but you weren't in last night when I got home and for some reason the house stinks of chlorine. You could have told me that Max was going to stay the night, but I won't hold it against you. I'm glad that you two are together again. Just don't lead Max to ruin, okay? And Max, please keep Chloe safe.

I'll see you girls in a little bit. I'm gonna go tidy up the living room and make breakfast before work.

Love,

Mom

xxx

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I wrote this story on the train after listened to **Mazzy Star** 's _Look on Down From the Bridge_. Joyce doesn't get too many fics, so I thought seeing one of these little pieces of time from Joyce's POV would be interesting.

Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated.


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